William Preston

Monday

Nov 30, 2009 at 1:21 PMNov 30, 2009 at 1:24 PM

William “Bill” H. Preston, Jr., of Driftwood Drive, Holden, a 10-year survivor of leukemia thanks to a generous bone marrow donation from his brother, Craig, died on Tuesday, Nov. 24, in Saint Vincent Hospital due to complications of a recent bout with pneumonia. He was 61.

He leaves his sons, Sean W. Preston of Dorchester and Eric E. Preston and his wife, Neishia of Baldwinville; a brother, Craig R. Preston and his partner, Michael Musta, of Marlboro and two grandchildren, Nicholas Preston of Baldwinville and Serina Ratoff of Worcester.

Mr. Preston's life started in Philadelphia, Pa., as the son of businessman William H. and schoolteacher Marcia W. and spent time in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Indiana. He graduated in 1967 from the Northwood School in Lake Placid, NY. The family moved to Hopkinton, that same year where he met his first wife, Christine and worked various jobs to support their growing family, and began to develop his love of woodworking.

Following his divorce, he met his second wife, Martha Perry, and lived in the Westboro area. By the mid-80's he met and wed his third wife Jeannine and moved to the town he would eventually spend most of his adult life in, West Boylston, with her two sons. It was during this time that he got his contractor's license and started a small company, B&J Construction.

Starting in the early 90's he began pursuing his financial and insurance certifications while working at Allmerica in Worcester, and eventually earned his business degree from Becker College. While building his career is business, he was diagnosed with leukemia at the age 50. With the support of family, friends, colleagues and the staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, he successfully came through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and eventually a successful bone marrow transplant that would give him an additional 10 years to pursue his passions.

After divorcing in 2001, he moved to Holden where he lived for a time with his second wife Martha, went on to do some graduate business work at the University of Phoenix in Westboro and eventually moved his career to MassMutual in Springfield, where he worked until 2008. Most recently, Mr. Preston had been pursuing his passion for woodworking under the tutelage of Ken Scherdell, a Master Carpenter of Rutland. He was an avid woodworker, with a passion for kayaking, nature photography and whistling and will be remembered as a loving grandfather, father, brother and friend.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec.12, in the Holden Chapel, 279 Reservoir St., Holden. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Preston's memory may be made to Walk to Cure Cancer, 333 South Street, RM: 13E-495, Shrewsbury, MA 01545. Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden is directing arrangements. For directions, or to leave an online condolence, visit: www.milesfuneralhome.com

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